The state-owned standardized test is administered to third through 12th grade students each spring to measure student progress and teacher performance. Critics say the high-stakes exam causes undue stress for students and does not help teachers improve instruction throughout the school year, leading lawmakers to reconsider how students are tested.
The House and Senate have each passed House Bill 4, a plan to replace the STAAR test with three shorter exams that students would take throughout the school year. Both bills are aimed at “reducing the assessment burden on students and school personnel” and would require that students’ scores be released shortly after the tests are completed.
However, House lawmakers have expressed concerns that the Senate’s version of HB 4 would not do enough to improve the state testing system. Bill author Rep. Brad Buckley, R-Salado, called for the two chambers to negotiate the differences in a conference committee May 29.
“We sent a transformational school assessment [and] accountability reform bill from the House to the Senate,” Buckley said on the House floor. “They have waded into some areas where I feel like it does not really meet the moment of what we need in our schools to make sure that we have strong assessments.”
Lawmakers have until June 1 to complete negotiations on all bills, and the 140-day regular legislative session ends June 2.
Zooming in
The previous version of HB 4, which passed the House May 13, would replace the STAAR with a beginning-of-year assessment in October, a mid-year assessment in January or February, and an end-of-year assessment in late May.
Students would be expected to spend about 60-90 minutes on each exam, and their scores would be released within 24 hours. Under the current system, most STAAR results are released over the summer, and some take about 14 weeks to become public.
“We need to make testing just another day at school, to the best we can,” Buckley said May 12.
The House proposed implementing norm-referenced tests, meaning a student’s performance would be compared to that of their peers in other states, instead of being based solely on the mastery of certain skills or information. The SAT, ACT and MAP tests are norm-referenced.
House lawmakers voted to direct the Texas Education Agency to adopt an existing third-party assessment that meets specific criteria, rather than developing its own exam, such as the STAAR. The Senate’s proposal would give TEA Commissioner Mike Morath broad authority to create a new set of state-owned exams, determining how the tests would be scored and when students would take them.
Under the House’s version of HB 4, students would begin taking the new tests next school year. Senators proposed requiring students to continue taking the STAAR test until the 2027-28 school year, when the TEA would switch to the new exams. Bill sponsor Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said the state would begin piloting its new exams in 2026 and train teachers on how to prepare for and administer them.
“We’re gonna get rid of the STAAR test, and we’re gonna replace it with something even better to get rid of this incredible anxiety that we’re seeing,” Bettencourt said before senators approved their version of HB 4 on May 27.
Rep. Gina Hinojosa, D-Austin, said the Senate’s changes would “essentially kill” the bipartisan legislation “by simply replacing the unpopular STAAR test with a virtually identical state-created test... instead of allowing school districts to use the nationally norm-referenced test most Texas students already take.”
“If the Senate prevails on HB 4, our efforts this session will have badly missed the mark,” Hinojosa said in a May 29 statement.
More details
School districts whose students do not do well on the proposed test exams could receive low state accountability scores.
Texas’ A-F accountability system is largely based on student performance on the STAAR test. While HB 4 seeks to add additional performance indicators that consider things like workforce development programs and student participation in extracurriculars, year-over-year test scores would remain the primary factor.
The accountability system has been frequently criticized in recent years by parents, school leaders and some lawmakers. Over 100 school districts sued Morath in August 2023, after he adjusted certain performance indicators that districts said would cause disproportionately lower ratings. The 2023 scores were released in April, and 2024 ratings are pending in a state appeals court.
The House proposal would require legislative approval for major changes to the A-F system, direct the TEA to finalize all rule changes by July 15 of each year and create an “expedited legal process” for future lawsuits.
Bettencourt said May 27 that his version of HB 4 would “blast past” repeated lawsuits against the A-F system. The TEA would have the authority to appoint a conservator to review lawsuits filed against the state and potentially oversee school districts’ operations, according to the bill.
“We have millions of students in public education, and we have a handful of schools that just continue to keep suing,” he said. “It’s obvious that maybe they don’t want these accountability ratings out in public. ... There’s so much collateral damage that occurs. Communities don’t know how their schools are doing.”
Sen. José Menéndez, D-San Antonio, said May 27 that he was in favor of a strong, transparent accountability system, adding that he did not want to “coerce” districts into accepting ratings that they believe are unfair.
“My concern [is] that if TEA comes in and does a takeover of a school district and there’s no judicial impact, then TEA now runs the school district,” Menéndez said on the Senate floor. “They could pull out of the lawsuit and in essence not allow for the school district to have a voice. It seems like we’re creating an unfair legal process.”
Also of note
HB 4 is part of a sweeping package of bills passed this session, which lawmakers have said will make Texas a national leader in education. The bills seek to help public schools hire and retain high-quality educators; rein in classroom discipline issues; and support families who send their children to private schools.
HB 2, which House lawmakers sent to the governor’s desk on May 29, will increase public school funding by $8.5 billion. The 229-page bill will raise salaries for teachers and support staff; invest in early learning initiatives; boost school safety funding; and overhaul how the state funds special education.
Gov. Greg Abbott has said he will sign HB 2 into law.
Lawmakers sent HB 6, a school discipline reform bill, to Abbott’s desk on May 28. The measure will give teachers more discretion to remove from the classroom any student who is repeatedly disruptive or threatens the safety of others.
On the Senate floor May 22, bill sponsor Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, said HB 2 and HB 6 “will satisfy the top two concerns of our 370,000 teachers in this state: Will our campuses and my classroom be safe; will I be safe? And will I be compensated in a way that helps me take care of my family?”
Abbott celebrated the passage of HB 6 in a May 28 social media post, calling it “common sense” to “restore discipline in our schools.”
In early May, Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 2, which will set aside $1 billion in public funds that families can spend on private school tuition and other educational expenses, such as textbooks or transportation. The program will launch at the beginning of the 2026-27 school year, and most participating families would receive about $10,330 per student, estimates show.
“With empowered parents, exemplary teachers and exceptional academics, Texas will be No. 1 in educating our children,” Abbott said in a May 23 statement celebrating HB 2’s passage.
